When first starting out in theater, we spend a ton of precious time and money training, going to shows, hanging with fellow actors, and obsessing about our craft.  We want to get better at performing so that we are ready at some point to audition for that one famous Harold team or that one spectacle musical for which the lead was written perfectly for you or for Lorne Michaels who continuously ignores our phone calls, emails, and SNL submission videos for some gosh darn reason!  Some productions are a perfect fit for our artistic goals and schedules while others may not be; some we may have no clue as to whether or not it’ll be worth out time.  The question that comes up will be,

“Should I audition for this production even though I’m not necessarily 100% committed to following though with it at the point of auditioning?”

NO

Imagine you are going for a job interview.  The job pays $65K, has a pretty decent benefits package (including vision), and it’s somewhat related to your skills set.  You show up to the interview and go through the 30 minute process of answering questions about your resume, your motivations, and answering the ubiquitous question of “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”.  After completing your interview, you shake hands with the interviewer and walk out the door.  Three hours later you answer a phone call from the happy employer offering you the job.  You then proceed to tell them “no” because in your heart you weren’t really serious about taking the job; you already have one and are pretty happy continuing living your life as it is – you were just interviewing to interview.

Jerk.

Don’t Waste Anybody’s Time

A lot of actors do not seem to consider the shows & rehearsals they attend as a “job” – it’s a “thing”, “gig”, “meeting”, “silly time” – anything but a “job” because labeling it as so would take the “fun” out of it.  Well, guess what?  It’s a job – at many times a “fun” job – but a job nonetheless (granted, for many of us the benefits & pay listed above don’t apply in the theater world).  Treat it as such.

If you have no intention of taking the gig if it’s offered to you, don’t audition.  It’s not karmatically fair for you to take the spot of someone who truly wanted to go for it.  It’s also a big let down to put energy into people who don’t really want to be there for everybody involved in the production process.  Casting agents, directors, stagehands, stage managers, producers, and many others are involved in putting together a quality show.  They’re counting on the best talent possible to come in and bring the production to life.  If they believed that you were able to help them with that goal and then turn them down, they will feel as if their time was wasted (and it was) and will be less willing to work with you in the future for productions/roles you truly do want (that’s when karma strikes you!).

Memories Are Long and Impacting

The world of theatre is small.  People tend to remember things that directly impact their ability to produce art especially when those things work against it.  Flaking out right after the audition will burn a deep negative image of you into the brains of everyone involved.  Those same people you auditioned for know other people in the scene and they’ll share their experience dealing with you.  You’ll receive a bad reputation walking into future auditions as “that guy/girl that doesn’t follow through on things”.  That rep is hard to overcome on your own.  Avoid walking into an important audition where the panel is now against you without you even showing your wares by auditioning seriously.

 

YES

Note: These reasons only apply IF you plan on working on the production if the opportunity is offered to you.

Gaining Audition Experience

Knowing what people expect when you’re at an audition is a good thing.  The best way to learn these things is by going on auditions.  Once you’ve been to a few of them, you can better prepare for future ones.  Yes, there are plenty of workshops out there that’ll teach you “how to audition” and many of them are quite good; however, unless you have a heightened ability to suspend your disbelief, these classes don’t measure up to the real thing.  It’s kind of like fighting – you may have sparred and trained a lot with a friend and gained valuable skills in defending yourself and attacking your opponent, but your mindset changes when you’re looking at getting beat down by an actual person.  Going on auditions will give you this valuable experience even when you think you have little chance of landing the part.

Take A Risk!

There are productions that you may think, “There’s is no way in heck I’m going to get that part/join that group!”  Eff that.  Theater – especially improv – is all about taking risks! Try out anyway.  You have no idea what they are really looking for so why count yourself out of the running?  With that said, don’t audition if you know you’re not ready for the big leagues; however, if you have an inkling you think you could make a team or join a show, DO IT!  The worst thing that’ll happen is that you don’t get it, but you will learn a lot just from the experience.  The best thing is that you achieve your goal and move forward with your career with another win under your belt!

Facebook Comments